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'Tussy' Russell a cop who cared

By Robert Mills, rmills@lowellsun.com

Updated:
12/03/2012 08:31:37 AM EST

Arthur Tussy Russell in his young days on the Lowell police force and later years

LOWELL -- Arthur "Tussy" Russell used to patrol some of the toughest neighborhoods Lowell had to offer in the 1970s, but if he saw some kids playing basketball, he would park and hop out of his cruiser.

Russell was a former basketball coach in addition to being a police officer.

"He'd get out and teach them how to play a little bit and shoot a few hoops," said Russell's former partner, David Hebert. "That's the kind of guy he was."

According to Russell's wife of 27 years, Mary "Betty" Russell, he would also take advantage of a different assignment, a walking patrol route, to chat and tell stories in Centralville.

"He would walk up and down Bridge Street and stop into every single business and talk to people and talk to people in the street," Betty Russell said. "They just loved him because he made his presence known, but he also just really liked to chat with people."

Russell was 69 when he died Nov. 26 at the D'Youville Senior Care Center. He was an "icon" in the Lowell Police Department, according to former Deputy Superintendent Robert DeMoura, who is now police chief in Fitchburg.

Deputy Superintendent Arthur Ryan met Russell before Ryan joined the force. Once Ryan got a badge of his own, he would often be asked about Russell.

"He was one of the most popular officers out there," Ryan said.

Hebert said even people Russell arrested took a liking to him.

And yet he never looked for a promotion.

"He preferred being a patrolman because he loved talking to people," Betty Russell said.

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"He was thinking about taking tests to go higher, but he didn't like the idea of being stuck behind a desk."

City Councilor Rita Mercier said Russell once brought one of her kids home.

"He was pretty adamant on the fact that you'd better straighten this kid out," Mercier said. "He was the type of police officer who would boot your son in the butt, but he did it because he loved kids.

"He could see the goodness," Mercier added. "He didn't want the kid to go bad.

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In a job where there sometimes isn't much goodness, Ryan and Betty Russell both said Tussy never let what he experienced on duty affect him.

"Sometimes in this job, you see so much negativity," Ryan said. "It's kind of refreshing when you're around somebody who can still see the good."

Russell was an athlete in his early years. He played semi-professional football and was one of the best players on the Police Department's softball team, according to Hebert. He also coached basketball in Tewksbury.

According to his wife, Russell was "an Irishman who didn't drink." She said he never had a single sip of alcohol.

"He thought it was a waste of time," she said.

Instead, Russell spent his time traveling. As a young man, he went to Africa, backpacked in Europe and spent time in Japan while he served in the Army in the Korean War era. He toured the country in a camper with his wife and five kids in tow.

His favorite destination was Disney World. He took his youngest son there seven times.

He loved to watch the History Channel and stored away facts for later conversations. He loved St. Bernard dogs, and a roughly 180-pound Newfoundland still whines at Betty in her Dracut home now that her husband is gone.

Betty and Tussy Russell dated when they were teenagers, but Betty dumped her future husband -- a point he would sometimes rib her about once they were wed. They both ended up divorced in their 40s and found each other again.

"I think we were always supposed to be together," she said.

Betty Russell said her husband was a perfect example of how a man should treat his wife.

"He never took it home," Betty Russell said about what he saw on the job. "No matter how stressed out he was or what kind of day he had, he never ever came home in a bad mood."

If Russell got stressed, he took a nap or went for a drive with his wife.

He loved kids, and loved to laugh to relieve his stress.

"That was his outlet," Betty Russell said.

Sometimes when his granddaughters would visit, Russell would chase them through the house while the girls screamed at the top of their lungs.

A lot of people in Lowell knew Russell's name, and Russell remembered everyone he met.

Betty said he would sometimes think of an old friend, sometimes from as far back as first grade, and decide to look him up.

"He was very nostalgic, and he remembered everybody he ever knew," she said. "All of a sudden, he'd think of someone and say, 'You know, I think I'm going to see if I can find them.'"

Often a trip to Florida would include a stop at an old Army buddy's house or the house of someone Russell hadn't seen in 20 years.

DeMoura met Russell when he was still a teenager and his mother worked at the Dunkin' Donuts in Central Plaza. Russell and Hebert would often stop in and became friends with DeMoura's mother. They would even give his mother a ride home from work if she was having car trouble.

Later, DeMoura went on a ride-along with Russell.

"That's what really got me interested in police work," DeMoura said.

DeMoura said it was Russell who taught him how to treat people once he pinned on his badge.

"He taught me to treat everyone fair, and I think that carried me very far in my career," DeMoura said.

Ryan said he hopes Russell's ethics, caring and compassion will rub off on new recruits.

"I would hope that as we hire new police officers, the compassion Tussy Russell showed for the citizens of Lowell will be passed on to them, and that the new generation of police officers will treat people the way Tussy treated them," Ryan said.

Hebert agreed that younger generations of officers could learn from Russell's professionalism and respect for everyone he dealt with.

"What they should learn from him is discretion," Hebert said. "Use your discretion in most of your decisions. Look at the situation, and if it's a decent guy, treat him decent. Always act professional and just do your job."

Mercier, who treasures a Lowell City Hall paperweight Russell once gave her as a gift, said Russell was as stern as he was kind, but that he always acted out of a desire to help.

"I respected him immensely," she said. "He was that regular cop on the beat that everyone feared but loved. They knew that as strict as he was, he was that caring. The city of Lowell will miss him tremendously."

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